Humane Society Says Ag-Gag Bills Hide Animal Cruelty

The Humane Society of the United States is asking consumers to sign their pledge to fight anti-whistleblower “ag-gag” bills being passed in states around the country. These bills are often sponsored by the agricultural industry, and try to criminalize undercover investigations that have exposed animal cruelty and food safety violations in the past. The pledge asks people to share information with family and friends about this issue.

This year, eleven states have tried to pass these laws that make it a crime to report a crime; they were defeated in legislatures or vetoed by governors in all states. Since 1990, six states, including Iowa, Montana, and Kansas have adopted these laws.

Undercover videos have exposed cruelty in farms in many states, and in 2008 a Humane Society expose video led to the largest beef recall in U.S. history, removing meat produced by Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company that was possibly tainted with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. That meat was destined for public school lunchrooms.

In February of this year, a bill passed in Wyoming In April, an ag-gag bill introduced in California was pulled by its sponsor after intense lobbying by food safety and animal rights groups. In May, Tennessee governor Bill Haslam vetoed an ag-gag measure, partially because he said that law was constitutionally suspect and may have violated federal whistleblower protection laws. And in Indiana, the General Assembly adjourned without voting on its ag-gag bill.

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If the Law maker would just take a day or even an hour to look at…. MURCY FOR ANIMAS …
thay would see what goes on behind the doors of so called slaughter house ITS A HELL HOUSE THESE ANIMALS ARE TOURCERED …..BY SICK PEOPLE FOR MONTHES EVEN YEARS FOR DAILY COWS
Any one trying to change THE SO CALLED ,,,LOOK AWAY…. LAW should be made to watch this MURCY FOR ANIMALS I MADE MY SELF WATCH …. SO SAD THAT THE POOR FARMERS…. HAD TO LOOSE MONEY ON BECAUSE A UNDER COVER VIDIO ..THAY SHOULD BE SPENDING MONEY ON HIDDEN CCAMERAS …ON THERE EMPLOYEES. …THAT ARE KICKING AND PUNCHING THE HEADS OF LITTLE NEW BORN CALFS ,,,, AND PLAYING FOOT BALL WITH LIVE CHICKENS AND TURKEY’S

And I tought those pictures were something of my past.. In the mid-seventies, the Swiss passed by referendum an animal welfare legislation which contained a ban of animal batteries, which had by then become the standard international norm for keeping farm animals, in fact those were not farms but animal factories. As a younger, independent PR professional I decided to come to the help of the Swiss Humane society ( Schweizer Tierschutz STS) against the powerful agro-ndustry and their lobbies who intended to break the teeth out of the law proposal. I gathered a few gifted film makers and journalists around me and what came out of it , was the biggest and most bitter fight that had ever been engaged for the cause of animals. The lobbies threw all they had against us , but so did we, no prisoners were taken and we concentrated strongly on the chicken batteries, which had to go. If they went, the others would have to follow. The law was adopted with a large majority by the Swiss people who also proved they were ready to pay the small extra for the cost of humane animal treatment . With immediate effect it became illegal to set up new batteries while the existing ones had a generous ten years to come down and free range eggs were now marked and enjoyed a large preference in the market. Above all, the Swiss agriculture survived well and pioneered a new biological way of producing food. The Swiss animal welfare law became something of a blueprint for other countries , in particular for the surrounding European Union. Two years ago the enemies of yesterday celebrated together the anniversary of the law during which some of the fiercest former antagonists praised the ” brave law” and even from abroad they were there, the lobbyists , lauding Switzerland for the courage it had taken to start off something as big on its own.
Me and my team were absent. Like our forebearers, the legendary royal mercenaries, we had done our job, we thought we could retire, some died, we faded away. But the monster, I believed we had killed, seems to be a hydra of seven heads, it has reemerged in the new world. I shall be 79 next month and now enjoy life as a happy retiree in Cannes on the French Riviera, But if my friend John Hoyt or his successors at HSUS, Washington, would need us veterans for help, i would consider the matter of taking up service again.

It is still hard to believe that we portray animals on TV commercials as loving, cared for and important to our lives. Why isn’t that true? It it because money rules out everything but more money? Instead of meeting some men behind an old barn, armed with crossbows and shot guns to shoot an animal raised on a bottle, just munching his hay. The owner of this facility is promoting more African endangered animals to be smuggled into the US, but proving that criminals can do what they want, make money and that is all.

Yes, we should outlaw this horribly cruel activity, but make the penalties big enough to persuade these people from starting back up. If they can make probably millions more by killing these beautiful animals, bail won’t be any deterant, and we can’t legally order millions of dollars of bail to “animal poachers.” But let’s do keep trying. I know a lot more people would care if they only knew what was going on. Tell them!

It’s been said, “If Slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarians.” Because of this, these industries do not want people to see the perpetual system of cruel and intentional torture of these innocent animals.